Other [Issue 75] The Cringey Gaming History Challenge

[Flexoo 6,980]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While exploring new topics to write about, I often find myself in the realm of really strange ideas. This article is pretty much the proof of it. The other day, I was once again brainstorming and this topic came to my mind. To fill you in, I've decided to make a funny summary of the video games I used to play from the very first till Tanki. It's a topic that I will probably regret making, but life is full of awkward moments so let's add one more to the basket.

 

 

Before I start, I will mention that I will cover only certain video games I played on various consoles that I deem were the most influential for me because although I do not consider myself a hardcore gamer, I still played a couple of games and no one really wants to sit here all day, am I right?

 

So, I started playing video games when I was a young teen, around 10-11 years old. If you are asking; "What? That late? Where did you live? Under a rock?", let me clarify it. I am a bit older than the majority of the Tanki teen population. When I was a kid, we used to play football outside, we played hockey with a tennis ball on the street and we were making bows after a history class, shooting pointy sticks at each other, somehow ignoring the fact that we can poke out someone's eye because role-playing an Indian was cool (yeah, definitely don't do this at home). At that time, kids did not play video games from the age of a toddler.

 

Anyways, the first video games I played were on the old TV game cartridges that looked something like this;

 

 

I know. When you look at this picture you must be instantly convinced I am a gramps enjoying my retirement. Yes, this is what I used to play when floppy disks were still "the thing", but it's actually not that far into the history. I still remember playing on weekends for a couple of hours and then getting a scolding because my parents missed their favorite political discussion show. I was glued to the TV.

 

I guess my parents grew tired of the fact I occupied their TV and so I received a different console that did not require it - a Gameboy Color. I think I got it on my birthday and the very first game I played on it was Pokemon Yellow.

 

 

Pokémon was a huge hit at the time I got this game. Literally overnight, these creatures that you capture and store in those small Poké Balls became known to every single kid in the middle school. Everyone was trading Pokémon cards, having albums and talking about the new Pokémon anime series that our TV station finally started broadcasting. I was one of the few who actually had a Pokémon game and I enjoyed playing it a lot. It was something new for a kid who used to play mostly outside and so it consumed me for hours. There was a couple of downsides, though. The game progress was super SLOW. I played and played for hours and yet I was hardly moving in the story.

 

I also sometimes forgot to save my progress or forgot to check my battery, so when I played and my battery died I was reset back to the last save. After hours and days of playing, I finally managed to "beat" the game. I finished the main story and even collected almost everything possible. I was a little bored of it, and so I put it into a drawer. After few weeks I told myself; "You know what, let's check the cartridge and finish the rest of the game!" So I brought it out, turned the Gameboy with the cartridge on and to my awe, I noticed that I am no longer offered the option "Continue The Game". My whole progress, all those hours I put into completing it, were gone. Battery probably died on me. Big fail. Obviously, I was no longer interested in starting from the very beginning and so I left it be.

 

Sometime later when the Gameboy cartridges were not fun anymore for me, I received my first computer. Obviously, my parents did not buy it for me to play games on it, but because it became necessary for my school projects, etc. I was like 14 years old, yeah you heard me right.

 

 

Although my computer was new, it was still a potato computer. By that, I mean it wasn't suitable for many new games out there at that time. Still, there were a couple of games that ran smoothly, so I wanted to try them out. One of the very first games I played on PC was Return to Castle Wolfenstein, or shortly RTCW. I picked up this game like 4-5 years after its release (because, yeah no computer, do you remember?). It was an older game, but one of my friends showed it to me when we were playing at his house, and I liked it. It's a game that many old gamers referred to as "the classic", plus as someone interested in history, I was attracted to the WWII theme it offered. I was a bit stunned when zombies started to pop out of catacombs and scientifically altered monsters shot at me with machine guns, but nevertheless, I enjoyed the game.

 

Soon after, I looked for more WWII games and found out the Call of Duty series. As opposed to "Wolf" it offered a much more realistic gameplay that was based on real events of the World War's 40s.

 

 

Obviously, the graphics and mechanics changed a lot over the years, but these games can still offer a very interesting nostalgic experience.

 

After that, I wanted to try something from a different genre and I somehow stumbled upon Doom 3. I definitely won't post any picture of that game, because it made me physically sick. I am not really into the horror flicks as even a walk in dark night hours makes me kinda nervous so when I started playing this game and got to the point where I had to go to the totally dark rooms filled with zombies and creatures that have more legs than acceptable, I decided to quit midway. Nah-ah girl, there's no way I will fall prey to monsters that looked like they can detach their heads without a problem.

 

I went with the flow and also tried GTA games which was probably my first experience with the open-world theme. Obviously, I liked them, because you can't hate these as a true gamer (or can you?).

 

 

It's definitely not a material to teach your kids or anyone the good manners, so if you ain't like 40, do not even dare to open Google and look this up, okay!

 

I played many other games like Yahtzee Far Cry (insert number from 1 to 3), other WWII related shooters like Saboteur, new Wolf games and many others that I definitely forgot to mention, but there is one more left that deserves its own place on my list. And that game is Tanki Online.

 

 

I never in my life thought I will play one game for this long, not to mention an online game which I used to avoid. It must be good four years now since I started playing and although many things changed in it, it's still a really good and enjoyable game. I almost completed my garage inventory and even got myself to the administration position. Who knows what the future holds for me.

 

 

So that's the limit of awkwardness I can take. What are the games you play/ed? Did you ever play any of the games I mentioned? Which one is your favorite? Share your impressions and lists!

 

[GrandExecutioner 1,403]

Gameboy Advanced SP moulded my childhood.

[thunderousrailgunner 1,934]

Out of the games you mentioned, i started with cartridges (yup) and GTA series and finally TO 

Didn't play other games as much .  guess i have to add some awkwardness to my basket too   :unsure: 

 

Edited May 4, 2018 by thunderousrailgunner

[fordmustang12345 3,910]

TBH I started with Tanki and didn't my my first console (a Wii )for a couple years after that , then my Wii broke and I got my current one (Xb 360) after that. Got a bunch of boring games that had campaign (MoH Airborne and others) and eventually got into CoD, AC and GTA tabs that's pretty much what I've stuck to

[KillerGnat 3,135]

js, Return to Castle Wolfenstein is a classic. I remember staying up hours past my bedtime secretly watching my bro play it  :ph34r:. And those zombies tho... made quite the impression on my six year old self. lol

[gokuMI6 1,290]

You are Indian ?

Yes i am a GTA , NFS guys who plays TO every day

[DRAKO523 795]

​Once again @Flexoo has written an amazing article, outstanding work  :D 

​I searched and searched the internet for hours just playing random online games, and then I started Tanki around 5-6 or so years ago can't remember the exact date, but it was around the time Shaft had it's Laser taken away, and those crystal boxes still dropped   :ph34r: 

 

[maryam98 1,171]

I never owned a console myself, but while TO was definitely the most long-lasting (long-lasting in my list i mean), it was definitely not the first, nothing like it.

[red-crown-h 0]

Started with playing tetris on a small portable 1st generation console lol... moved on to 'Dangerous Dave' and 'Hercules' on PC, followed by 'Contra'  and the like on cartridge, and later NFS: porsche on a PC. Then came the Gameboy with pokemon and DBZ, closely followed by the PSP and PS2..... I guess my most fond memories of these are playing Daxter on the PSP and being glued to the TV monitor, playing a God of War/ WWE/ San Andreas marathon in the gaming parlour next to my home...  Ahh, the good ol days :')  Soon after, we got ourselves a Playstation 3, one of the earlier design variants, alongside playing free online games on facebook lol.....   Some time in 2013, a friend introduced me to tanki, and that was that :) 

[Stamina 143]

xD 

[Guest]

My first ever console game was Mario bros or super mario bros in SNES :3 I am pretty young tho..

[Ritz 411]

But 10-11 is not teen xD

[maryam98 1,171]

But 10-11 is not teen xD

Tween, technically.

[thethiefofvictory 339]

Started out on Miniclip as a two year old, found Tanki six years later on Miniclip, and decided to foolishly buy a PS3 last year. Let's ignore the games I have on that. Eventually I switched to Steam and got these games:

 

....actually, I don't want to be embarrassed in front of gamers because of my cringey steam library  :(

[Best_of_thunder_2015 1,354]

Flexoo, Fix this, please... 

 

http://prntscr.com/jhbjob

[maryam98 1,171]

Flexoo, Fix this, please... 

 

http://prntscr.com/jhbjob

I think it isn't exactly bad grammar, just a lack of brevity, but it does emphasise the point.

[Pyre 3,485]

I still have my Gameboy Color and boot it up from time to time to hear it hum, and mebbe beat up Blue and the Elite 4 one more time... Memories...

[CabbageRoll 3,018]

LOl 8 years ago i played Bud Redhead and finished all levels perfectly and had 34 lives on end

 

i redownloaded it 1 month ago and awfully stretched 640x480 surprised me and i cant even finish level 1-1 omg

[splitterpoint 10,986]

Awesome topic, I don't get why you call it cringy but I guess that's just me.

I can relate to most of the things that happened to you. Pokémon was a huge hit here aswell. Especially the pokémon cards.

 

Ahh I remember Return to castle Wolfenstein when my brother was playing it.

There was an end-boss zombie dude in it; haha man I had nightmares for weeks.

 

We played GTA San Andreas in real life in the woods with home made guns made from pvc pipes and wood. :lol:

 

Have you played with the N64 aswell?

You must have.. Super Mario 64 and Super Smash Bros make for an unforgettable experience with friends on the couch.

[Guest]

How much were you paid for this?  :ph34r:  :ph34r:

 

 

 

 

Edited May 19, 2018 by I3.R.0

[lukey0 27,543]

Very interesting. :)

[Hex 11,520]

How much were you paid for this?  :ph34r:  :ph34r:

 

 

 

 

More Blue Spheres you can ever imagine!

[r_Kirby4 358]

 

Alright boy, where's me in all of this.